OMG You did what?

[Danyboy]

ok, so there are my personal lessons I had to learn the hard way... :arggg:

1. Always perform a *thorough* functional check before launching the model.

Happened to me in my old days when I steered planks through the sky... So I wanted to dust-off my hotliner... I entered all the settings from my little PDA into the TX (Wasn't able to save several models back then...).
Before launch, I quickly check the function...
Throw...
And whoa...
Oh shit...
Oh shit...!
OH SHIT!
Upon departure it rolled left, but when I corrected, it turned even more, and more, and more... Just when I grasped the situation, I was entering an (controlled) outside-loop which unfortunately ended about 20cm short of the lowest point.
On the ground. :arggg:
There are two kinds of "take your model apart". On the first one, you will end up with a few big parts which you would then carefully lay down in your car to transport home, on the second, you'll end up with a lot of small parts that you just throw in a black bag that goes to the trash...
That was the first time I did it as the latter...
Why? I did check the working of the ailerons alright. But I did not check the *correct* working of the ailerons... Both were inverted... Though please ask me not, why the spoilerons worked correct...

2. A "hot" model must be considered a loaded gun with safety off.
3. Always turn your satellite-dish (aka belly) toward the greatest danger (which would be a loaded gun with safety off... ;) )

There I was, honing my hover-skills in our garage (for the whole building, is underfloor, contains about 20 cars), when a guy entered with his car. I shut down the motor and put it aside. Crouching beside it, I though it was a good idea to go through and recheck the transmitter's-settings, since I was nailing the revo-mixing...
Ok, all done with hover, now let's check aerobatic-mode...
*slap*-*slap*-*slap*
Hey, who's slappin' my ass?!?
Actually it was the governor, that dutyfuly went from 0% to 90%, as instructed by the different throttle-curves I had with hover and aerobatic...
Cost me about 100$, that small flick of a switch...
Or maybe the Heli simply didn't like the broad view of my ass? ;)

4. There is a good reason, why the battery's leads are always red and black... And i'It is likely to get a positive effect, when you also use those colours on their shrink-tubes...
5. *think it through* before you "just quickly try something".
6. When in doubt, don't give in to the sweet tempation to try it nevertheless.

There I was, happily finishing the installation of my new ESC on my Zoom, which promised governor-function... :)
On the battery-leads, I always use different plugs for positive and negative, so one can't reverse polarity.
So I plugged the female into the male connector. Don't ask me why, but I remember I hesitated then, because it somehow looked so nice, with one connector plugged in... After a sigh I connected the second set of connectors, meaning to complete the circuit from battery to ESC.
But wait, these leads are both the same size, it went as a lighting through my head, just the instant my hands finished the connecting move...
*Swish*-*smoke*-*nastysmell*
The solution to my astonished realization of lead-diameter and smell and smoke came to me the instant I finished the un-plugging: If you have a female and a male connector on the battery as well as on the ESC, *nothing* will stop you to connect the battery to the battery.... *IF* you shrinked all the connectors in black, just because you were too lazy to get some new red one... :arggg:
That thing didn't explode or anything, it just vented some gasses and some smoke and my Zoom just smells kind of bad since then...
So far only 50$ on the battery...
But still, the small devil on one of my shoulders whispered in my ear, that I *really* wanted to test the new installation... And the angel must've taken a nap then... :twisted:
Ok, so I took extra care when connecting, all works fine now that the proper leads are connected.
Unfortunately, I was only able to proof, that when you are in governor-mode, the ESC will try to hold the RPM, no matter what...
We also know, that for the same power, if you lower voltage, you need more current. So what happens with the ESC, when you open the throttle and try to get 2400RPM's on a "nearly-zero"-voltage battery? Right, the motor will turn a little (looked kinda gay until I noticed the smoke) and the ESC's condensator will burn out due to overcurrent...
There go another 100$... :arggg:
Totalizing, that would be another 150$ just for a quick "plug-in"...

If you summarize the above, I guess you could put it into one sentence:
Switching on the brain before manipulating on models will reduce the pain, physical and also in your wallet... :roll:

[WayneBrown]

amen

[reman]

When soldering a female deans on a lipo how do you stop the heat distorting the plug ? I plug a male in the other side of it, OK, so how do you stop the whole lot moving while you solder it ? I USED TO put an elastic band on the handles of some pliers and use it as a sort of vice to grip the plastic of the deans, ( note "I USED TO", that was till the day the pliers slipped off of the plastic and clamped onto the 2 solder terminals.)
I was very p155ed off because

1 - I was SOOOOO stupid to not see that coming,

2 - It was a brand new 50 quid lipo that I toasted,

and 3 - I didn't pre think about what the "worst case" may be if it all goes wrong soldering plugs on lipo's on the desk in my bedroom.

I was very lucky to get it down the stairs, through the house and in to the back garden before it went " fizz pop :bomb: "

I didn't stop shaking for 30 Minuit's

[WayneBrown]

I use a pair of hemostats myself.

[Rick Rotorhead]

My 12 year old has watched me prep and fly my Twister CP many times, he has played with the Tx when its off, I explained the controls and demonstated how they work etc.
Sooooo, when I go to plug in my batt pack and he says ok Dad I'll hold the Tx for you, and I say alright, just don't move the throttle stick ok, "OK DAD" Whir Whir chomp chomp thwack - yeowch!!!! One chewed canopy and a bruised thumb later I realised that you just can't trust kids to follow instructions.
I should have known better - a couple of years ago he literally begged me to let him 'have a go' with my crossbow pistol - so I set up a big cardboard box with polystyrene blocks inside it and put it on my chair - I got him to aim carefully and slowly pull the trigger - at which point he then raised the crossbow and loosed off a bolt right through the back of my favourite (and expensive) armchair recliner :arggg:

[jediwannabe]

Luckly I have a blade CP Pro.

I was working on my bench powered up the heli with the Tx off, the blades stated spinning knocking eveything over! The heli was starting to do the chicken dance right on my table I was able to grab a safe spot and unplug the batt.
Second time I landed from a sucessful flight turned off my Tx (Dooh!!) the heli started flopping all over...glad i'm learning these LESSONS on a very small bird!

And I'm kinda ashamed to admit this, but I was hovering nose in 10ft up maybe 10 ft in front of me and my brother... the breeze picked up it came at us we both ducked and I spun around and kept the heli flying. I realized that if I had a bigger bird or even CF blades on the Blade CP pro this is how accidents happen. These are all "lessons learned" that are cached in my memory so when I do move up I don't make the same mistakes.

[wecoyote]

How many have done the "flying range check"?

That's when you take off but forget to extend your antenna. :arggg: (been there) Then wonder why it went crazy all of a sudden.

[cudaboy_71]

my earlydays were spent with planks at about age 14. plenty of stupid stuff to go around even with dad watching over my shoulder (he wasnt in to R/C before i came along...so we were learning together).

lessee---

forgot to plug in aileron servo before attaching wing;

forgot to put screw in elevator servo horn (that worked for about 1 1/2 circuits before popping off);

only had one non-computer radio for 3 planes (no model memories)--forgot to reverse two of the servos--actually got it back on the ground in one piece with reversed elevator and aileron :o ;

forgot to unplug the relief tube on a pressurized tank-filled it up--then watched nitro start dripping from inside the plane after the seal on the tank grommet blew out;

another time after remembering to unplug the relief tube on the same plane, watched nitro spew out of it all over the plane, permanently frosting the canopy;

being young and too shy to yell out deadstick and came in for a landing on an unsuspecting runway (that didnt happen again!);

skipped the part of the instructions for my first trainer where the nose gear is attached to the rudder/servo--i had a fixed steering plane, a little tricky to maneuver on the ground at slow speed;

learned the hard way that monokote should overlap toward the trailing edge of the wing--watched in horror as both the top and bottom sheets came ripping off of one wing panel in flight after a tight, banked turn. amazingly it continued to fly and land safely.;

as far as helis, i've been lucky so far <knock on wood>

i did bruise my shin with a pair of wood 255 blades on a micro heli. i was checking servo throw in T/H --unwittingly left the radio in idleup, and leaned over to the heli and knocked T/H back off. ow!

just recently: after a crash i had all the parts to fix it up except for a gear for the tail drive. a week later i forgot about that and took it out for a flight. in hindsight i guess i should have removed the bad gear. but, i only wanted to tear down once. so, at the field, preflight inspection seemed fine. spooled up, took off, headed out about 40 feet, and lost the tail...spun right into the ground. the worst part was i shattered both brand new CF blades that were just replaced after the previous flight/crash :arggg:

[Striker]

Hey Guys,
I'm a newbie, but I am accident free so far. I would like to think it's because I'm a pilot in real life and treat my Heli's as if they were the real thing. When I go fly the real thing, nothing is left to chance. By the time I have the airplane in the air I have no doubt in my mind everything is functioning properly. I am ready for that to change but again, I would never leave the ground without eveything in 100% working order first.

I've made a pre-flight checklist that has been VERY helpfull for me. I've added a few things from this thread.

Pre-Flight Checklist
http://expressrock.com/rcheli/helipreflight.doc

I know this seems like it would take more time to do, but think of the time saved in the long run. No more crashes from stupid mistakes.

Let me know what you guys think of this.

Also, I have been flying the rex in the house because there's 2ft of snow outside but that will stop now after reading this thread and following my own checklist. Luckily, I have not had any problems flying inside :)

Thanks,
Eric :shock:

http://www.expertmagic.com/

[xStatiCa]

1. Forget idle-up when going inverted over a pond. Expensive electronic parts replacements.

2. Hovering inverted over a pond at a lower altitude than you usually do only a week after starting inverted. Expensive electronic parts replacements.

3. Forget to use throttle hold and mode switch goes to idle-up while double checking battery connection. Luckily soft start saved me from getting hurt.

4. Turn off tx while heli is on and not checking to make sure fail-safe defaults are set to low throttle on a used heli rx. Bruised leg(jean pants were on) with wood blades shattering on them.

5. Not verifying that tx is in normal instead of idle-up when flipping throttle hold off. Crash.

6. Flipping throttle hold instead of idle-up at 20 feet up and watching heli fall to the ground. Tall grass kept it from getting damaged.

7. Buying expensive high quality electronics when you only fly over the water to practice. Crashes in the water cost more.

8. Buying a house with a pond as your back yard.

[chopchop]

Finished the build of my first heli (Trex 450se) and installed a G190 gyro.
The first time the bird lifted of, it made a lightning fast piro :shock: Turned out to be the gyro that was upside down (orientation is not switch selectable so had to move the gyro).
No damage this time but was close :oops:

Lesson; first throttle up after a new- / rebuild should be on a smooth, non-grip surface so you can monitor the first actions just before the heli lifts.
I made the mistake to do it on grass and did not see it comming! Went from complete stand still to piro in an eyeblink!

Cheers, Hans

[xStatiCa]

Lesson; first throttle up after a new- / rebuild should be on a smooth, non-grip surface so you can monitor the first actions just before the heli lifts.

For fist spoolup and rudder trimming I take the rubber sleeves off the lower part of the landing gear too to make sure it can slide around easier.

[exnexusluver]

roughly 10 years ago,i sat down my lil concept 30 and started it.i figured if i hold the tail at the tail gear case,it would be an easy way to lift it off safe..wrong..lol.it arked so pretty right over my head and on its head..i did pull the stick to low but still did damage.lucky for me i was fine and i never did n e thing like that again.next lesson is recent.this is from a plane but still a lesson for even helis.i have 20 years flying planes and 10 or 11 on heli`s.i was running and setting up one of my 4 engine bombers(getting the motors in sinc)when an inside motor started to quit.i reach around the prop with a motor running 12,000 rpm to my left.i pull my hand back fast to hit low throttle when the sound of a saw blade cutting wood was heard,then a crack.the new 3 blade master airscrew tore through my hand and broke /stopped on my wedding band.14 stitches in 4 cuts down to the bone,partially cut tendon and several cut nerves later im at the hospitol.lets not forget a cut vein.with years of expierience we tend to relax.who would have known being married would save a finger..treat this stuff with respect.

[cudaboy_71]

yeeeouch. on both counts. i can't imagine what must have been going through your mind as you watched that heli rainbow over your head with you still attached!!!

so far you're winning this thread :shock:

[exnexusluver]

Im not sure if thats such a good thing to be a winner on this type of thread..lol...I dont take chances n e more like that..lol..The good news from that wound.I did test fly the 4 engine ,finger hungry Lanc the next day.She flew like a dream and now with 12 or so flights,still flies like a dream..

[stevejr72]

Last November, I bought my first TRex.. an SA.
I was so excited... Put it together as per the instruction manual. Everything seemed perfect.
(a little background... first r/c ever was a blade cx-2 had it for about 3 weeks before the TRex. Thought I knew what I was doing)
Anyway, took my newly assembled TRex outside.
Got it about 6 feet in the air and it started to move on me, so I throttled down... OOPS!!!
Little did I know, throttle down was full negative... both throttle & pitch.
I broke almost everything imaginable on my heli.
Lesson learned. $$$$$$$$$

[Tonystott]

While you are getting familiar with a collective pitch heli, set your pitch curve to close to zero for the bottom half of the stick, that way you won't punch it into the ground again. Later on, you can switch to idle up, where you want to be able to select negative pitch with the bottom half of the stick.

[stevejr72]

Oh, I'm well aware now... all that happened before I found this site & Finless videos.
I owe it to him for helping me keep my rex flying correctly.
Also, I did the Radd's School of Rotary Flight which helped more than I could imagine.

[Yuchan]

I think this hobby requires some live and learn type mistakes.. im still new but here are my thoughts.
The things that get you are the things that dont fully register in your mind as dangerous.

Its the things that you understand logically but not to your gut. :D in all sincerity.

For example.. I did start up my t-rex450 when my tx was set up for my 600. Didnt notice anything was wrong because everything is fine untill spooled up.. a servo or two is reversed and it flew straight into the ground as i moved aileron/elevator

I think its the case with many risks in life. People who get cancer from smoking tend to think differently about smoking.
Like the great anti helmet law advocate who got in a crash and realized his helmet saved him (and promptly switched sides). Its not about rational analysis of your checklist its the GUT!!

[Dutchdude]

Great stories all! really learning stuff as well (like soldering deans with the "home made vise grips" (do(DID) that all the time). I am thinking of making a small checklist, which i can stick on my TX. I am just about to built and fly the Trex600 and this is scaring the crap out of me to be honest.. I am really really careful when flying with the 450 and always do a "mental check" before plugging in the Batt..

checklist for 600:
TX on?
Antenna out?
Throttle hold on?
Idle up off?
RX batt connected?
Right model selected?

[cudaboy_71]

some of that comes down to *forced* habits. they seem silly to some. but, they have saved me on more than one occasion. for example:

i NEVER set down a servo horn screw. i remove it, pull off the horn, and put the screw back in the output shaft....even if i'm "just checking something real quick" ...because more often than not, i get sidetracked and don't come back to that servo for a while. how many stories have you heard about crashes because of a forgotten screw.

i ALWAYS choose the model on my radio when i switch on the radio. it doesnt matter if i only took one heli to the field. every time i turn it on, i choose the model. keeps me from forgetting whether i did or not...i always do.

i physically touch every switch on the radio before plugging in the battery (i fly all electric). t/h, flight mode, D/Rs, gear (normal/HH), etc. i look like i have serious OCD every time i grab the radio. but, it helps.

i only fly in idleup. in fact, my normal pitch curve is set to 0°...i couldnt lift off if i wanted to. keeps me from forgetting to flip into idleup in the first place.

there's more. but, i cant remember now. point is, sometimes you have to MAKE a habit if it doesnt form naturally.

[lqdKaos]

I am a newbie and have made a couple newbie mistakes.

My first was the "its not THAT windy outside". I had been working on my hover for the first 3 packs. On the third one, it started getting breezy out but I figured where I was flying (between houses) I would be ok. Little REXY went about 12 feet in the air and then came at me only to land on her side in the grass. New head, blades, main shaft, blade grips and alot of work later, I was back in the air.

Second was while I was rechecking everything after the above rebuild.
I place REXY on the counter, I squat down, make sure my head is clear of the blades, place left hand on the skids to hold her down, set the TX on the floor and start to give some throttle with right hand. All is going well. A little more throttle and all the papers on the counter start blowing around and something comes at my face I instinctively block my face, but let go of REXY in the process. REXY shoots up and over. Luckily, I was able to shut down the throttle before she hit anything.

So two lessons
1. For newbies. If you say to yourself "Its not that windy"...It is "THAT" windy
2. If you use your kitchen counter to check tracking....Make sure it is clear of everything (those little things move ALOT of air)....AND use something other than your hand to hold your bird down.

[kevinator9]

With my df4 once the tail motor died. It spun round and round and so I landed. I had a brilliant idea and decided it would be cool to fly it like that so I did. And then when I tried to land it flipped over and snapped the fly bar and half.

[modemfox]

I have a good one. I had a walkera 22e that i thought was the greatest at the time. I was flying it in my den when the battery started to die, so i set it down. They dont come with throttle holds so i just set the remote down on the couch.

As i walked over to disconnect the battery my cat decided to scratch his chin on my throttle stick and cut a nice line in my arm that required stitches. Anyway... umm... yeah... respect for carbon fiber blades and learned to NEVER set my radio down untill my battery is unplugged.